A view of the American paintings and sculpture galleries at the Yale University Art Gallery

A view of the American paintings and sculpture galleries at the Yale University Art Gallery

Photo: Contributed Photo

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Exterior view of the Yale University Art Gallery. From left, the Louis Kahn building, Old Yale Art Gallery building and Street Hall.

Exterior view of the Yale University Art Gallery. From left, the Louis Kahn building, Old Yale Art Gallery building and Street Hall.

Photo: File Photo

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Exterior view of the Yale University Art Gallery. From left, the Louis Kahn building, Old Yale Art Gallery building and Street Hall.

Exterior view of the Yale University Art Gallery. From left, the Louis Kahn building, Old Yale Art Gallery building and Street Hall.

Photo: Contributed Photo

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One of America's great new old museums debuts in New Haven

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Flanked by two massive bronzes --Henry Moore's "Draped Seated Woman" and Aristide Mallol's "L'Air" -- on the new outdoor roof-top sculpture terrace at the Yale University Art Gallery, soaking in the New Haven skyline, a visitor might well come to the conclusion that sometimes great things are worth a considerable wait.

On Wednesday, Dec. 12, following about 14 years of planning and construction -- involving several distinct restoration, renovation, rebuilding, remodeling and redesign projects -- Yale University will debut its newly expanded art museum, now featuring three connected buildings.

The Yale Gallery of Art "has a collection so rich" from antiquity to the present and a space so extraordinary that it has evolved into one of "the finest in the nation," gallery Director Jock Reynolds said. The Yale campus (including the Center for British Art) boasts "one of the greatest concentrations of art in the world," he added during a recent press tour.

In 1998, when Reynolds arrived at Yale, a master plan to redevelop the Yale "arts area" was embraced in an effort to preserve historic campus buildings while "improving and expanding" arts facilities.

The result: the enlarged Yale University Art Gallery. Founded in 1832 when patriot-artist John Trumbull donated more than 100 paintings to Yale College in return for a $1,000 annuity for life, the museum is now housed in a suite of three contiguous architecturally important buildings on Chapel Street.

More Information

If You Go: Entrance to the Yale Art Gallery is at 1111 Chapel St., at the corner of York Street. Admission is always free. Hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursdays until 8 p.m. September through June; Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Mondays and major holidays. For additional information, visit www.artgallery.yale.edu.

Occupying the length of one-and-a-half city blocks, the gallery now consists of the 1953 modernist building designed by the eminent Louis Kahn, at the corner of Chapel and York streets; the 1928 Italian Gothic-style Old Yale Art Gallery, designed by Egerton Swartwout, as the center building; and Peter Bonnett Wight's 1866 Street Hall, done in a high Victorian style (on the extreme right). Each has three upper levels of exhibition space and a lower level with several classrooms, an art library that is open to the public, storage and conservation areas, and the Nolen Center for Art and Education, devoted to community outreach programs. Each structure has its own charms.

A vast Gothic-style hall, intimate alcoves, grand galleries and cozy sitting rooms --all featuring remarkable details -- work to create an overall ambiance of warmth and welcome, plus a sense of adventure. Moods, too, frequently change -- some areas are dark and mysterious, others airy and full of natural light -- each created to complement its contents.

Expansive views of the Yale campus and downtown New Haven are afforded from behind numerous large windows and sculpture court.

The $135 million project (which included an extensive restoration/renovation of the Kahn building, completed in 2006) has expanded exhibition space from about 40,000 square feet to about 70,000. From the museum's vast holdings of about 200,000 items, much of which has been donated by artists and alumni over the decades, about 4,000 are on view, including about 1,100 new acquisitions.

Permanent sections include those featuring African art; American decorative arts (renowned for its collection of sterling silver items from the Colonial and early Federal eras); American paintings and sculpture, including a portrait of George Washington at Trenton by gallery founder Trumbull); art of the ancient Americas; art of the ancient Mediterranean; Asian art; coins and medals (formerly housed in Yale's Sterling Memorial Library); European art (with its renowned collection of works by the likes of van Gogh, Manet and Monet); the new Indo-Pacific art department; modern and contemporary art, including works by Chuck Close and Mark Rothko; and prints, drawings and photographs.

As Richard Olcott noted last week, a visit to Yale Gallery "is all about choice. There is no prescriptive path" that a visitor must or should take to tour the facility. Each of the three buildings has a center elevator and staircase; clear glass doors lead from one building to another, allowing visitors to orient themselves with ease.

As with every large museum, visitors will want to consider multiple visits to see the new facilities and its temporary exhibitions, Reynolds said. Of course, visitors can put on their running shoes and "see" everything in a day-long visit, he added. But what's the point? he asked. Since admission is (and will always be) free, he said, the joy comes from "wandering" leisurely, "experiencing art in new and exciting ways -- being inspired" by the masterworks at hand.

Reynolds said he hopes museum-goers will "slow down, look (at) and linger" before some of the world's greatest art treasures whenever they visit.

If You Go: Entrance to the Yale Art Gallery is at 1111 Chapel St., at the corner of York Street. Admission is always free. Hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursdays until 8 p.m. September through June; Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Mondays and major holidays. For additional information, visit www.artgallery.yale.edu.